Restaurant marketing has evolved over
the past 10 years. What once involved primarily written pieces, now
encompasses many forms of media.

Your marketing strategies now include a different type of
message. The message is one that instead of telling people why they
shouldn’t go to the competition tells them why they should come to
your restaurant.

Current restaurant marketing nurtures customers. It draws them by
engaging with them and building relationships. So, as the marketing
evolves over time, so must your strategy. (tweet this)

If you want to improve your restaurant marketing, do this. In
this article, we look at some innovative techniques for moving your
marketing strategy forward.

Reach Out to Bloggers and Influencers

One great way to take your restaurant marketing to the next
level is to network with others.

This is a great way to increase the reach of your restaurant and
introduce new people to your dining experience. It also lends
credibility to your restaurant when local bloggers and influences
are talking about you.

Reach out to these people. Take them samples from your
restaurant. Invite them to dine free of charge. Then, ask them to
share content about your restaurant.

This will help increase brand awareness and drive customers to
your door.

Take Online Orders

Convenience is key in today’s marketplace. So, make it very easy
for diners to access your food.

Many people would rather order online and have it delivered or
pick it up than sit in your restaurant for a longer period of
time.

A bonus of this is that you get new customers’ email addresses,
and you can further market to these people through your email
marketing system. You can also re-market to them using paid ads on
Facebook.

Use Email Marketing

Restaurant email marketing is not dead. In
fact, it’s one of the best forms of advertising for your restaurant
and attracting and retaining customers. (tweet this)

If you aren’t currently using this, it’s a must for your
marketing strategy.

Over 102 trillion
emails are sent each year, and people do read them. Those
numbers will continue to increase.

No matter what age group you are trying to reach, email is a
highly effective strategy with some people checking their email
more than 20 times per day.

Your restaurant emails allow you to get in front of current and
potential customers on an ongoing basis. Through email, you can
share promotions, specials, events, recipes, and more.

Create Social Media Contests

People are competitive by nature, and they love to enter
contests on social media.

You can use contests to improve your marketing because when
people enter contests, they have to give you their email
addresses.

This makes contests a win-win for everyone – they get a chance
to win something special from your restaurant, and you get easy
access to their email inbox.

Promote your brand at least once a month with a social media
contests. You’ll gain new followers, boost your brand awareness,
and get more people interacting with your social media page.

Work on Getting More Reviews

Positive online reviews are the lifeblood of your restaurant.
Imagine someone was searching for “Italian food near me.” You offer
Italian food. Your restaurant shows up on the Google search page
next to five other restaurants that serve Italian food.

Four of the restaurants have two-three stars, but your
restaurant has five stars. Nearly all of those searchers will visit
you and not the competition.

The more reviews your restaurant has, the more you’ll create
trust with your customers. So, create a strategy for soliciting
more.

In addition, you want to respond to every review that comes in,
positive or negative. You can bet a negative review or two will
come in, so you want to reply with empathy and kindness and offer
some sort of solution.

Final Thoughts

Create a calendar and a list of tactics. Then, use the tactics,
test them, and revise as necessary.

Know that some things will work, and some won’t. Be patient and
flexible so you can adapt to meet changing needs.

With marketing in the digital age, you can always change it up
and make it better to increase your results.

Get creative, start marketing, and watch the sales roll in.

At Restaurant Engine, not only do we create great,
responsive websites, but you can count on us to create a website
that drives business to your restaurant and edges you above the
competition by using mobile-friendly design with a terrific user
experience. Ready to take the plunge and create a website with an
online menu, blog and beautiful photos? Get your free website
consultation today!